Cahill Type Cheeses
Cahill Type Cheeses are simply english cheddar cheeses where 1/4 of the the total amount of the curds are either cooked separately in a vegetable based food coloring similar to using ammatto.
OR
Take 1/4 the total amount of you curds just prior to salting and add 2.75 ml of vegetable based food coloring.
The color is based on the type of cheese. Green for sage, Brown for porter, Red for wine.
The flavor (Sage flavoring extract, Porter or Wine) is then sprayed on the curds just prior to pressing.
This can also be done with a Derby cheese.
The Cheedar
Ingredients:
whole milk
choozit MA011 starter culture
rennet
kosher salt
vegetable based food coloring
Procedure
Heat milk to 88° F
Add calicium chlride if needed
Add 1/2 teaspoon Choozit MA11 starter culture
Ripen with culture for 1 1/2 hours
Add 1/2 teaspoon double strength vegetable rennet
Check for the curdling time and multiply this times 3 to get the time from adding rennet to cutting the curd, e.g. 12 min. x 3 = 36 min.
Cut into 3/8” cubes (pea-sized particles)
Settle curds after cutting for 5 minutes
Stir and heat curds to 95 °F in 30 minutes ( 1° F every 4 minutes)
Continue stirring and heating to 102° F in 15 minutes (1° F every 2 minutes)
Cook at 102° F for 45-60 minutes until the curds bounce off your hand and feel like pellets and are springy when squeezed. Whey pH 6.1-6.2
Settle curds under the whey for 15 minutes.
Move curds slowly to the back of the vat to form a pack that is 8 inches deep.
Drain off the whey and form a trench in the middle of the pack to let the whey escape from the curds. When you are finished draining, there should be two packs of curds on either side of the back of the vat with an 8-10 inch wide trench down the middle. The pack should be about 4 inches deep.
Whey pH 5.9-6.0 by the time the pack is formed and most of the whey is drained.
Cheddaring Process:
Wait ten minutes and cut the pack into slabs that are 6 inches wide.
Turn the slabs over after 15 minutes. Turn again after 15 minutes.
Cut the slabs to half their length and pile them 2 high.
Turn the slabs over and pile 3 high after 15 minutes,
Continue to turn and pile the slabs every 15 minutes up to 7 high if you need to keep moisture in the curds or 4-5 high if you need less moisture.
Maintain the temperature at 95-100° F during the cheddaring process. This can be checked by sticking a thermometer into the slabs of curd.
When the whey is pH 5.3-5.4 (acidity of 55-75 degrees), mill the slabs of curd into pieces 1 inch x 2 inches.
Time from adding culture to milling is around 6-6 1/2 hours.
Wait ten minutes and add salt. Use coarse flake salt (like Kosher salt) Salt amount will vary with cheese yield. Expect to use about 2 teaspoons per gallon of milk.
Add the salt in 3 portions and wait 5-10 minutes between each addition. The idea is to let enough salt dissolve into the curds before hooping the curds and pressing them into blocks or wheels. However for smaller batches, two applications will be enough.
Gather the curds into the forms (blocks or hoops) lined with cheese cloth and move to the press.
Press with enough pressure to create a smooth rind by the next morning. This is 25 p.s.i. to start. After 30 minutes take of the pressure and tighten the cheese cloths around the cheese. Increase the pressure to 40 p.s.i. for the rest of the time. The pressure in hoops should be continuous for 24 to 48 hours.
Remove from the press and take the cheese out of the forms. The cheeses can be vacuum sealed or waxed. If muslin cheese cloth is used, it can be left on the rind and waxed over.
Ripening Process - Sage cheese can be ripened in an ordinary celar or cool room where the temperature does not go above 60°F. It should be held until ie developed the pronounced flavor that is characteristic of the cheese.
Pressing cheese. The regular sized Enlish sage cheese weights about 5 pounds, but in America all sizes are found, weighing from 2 to 80 pounds. The pressure in hoops should be continuous for 24 to 48 hours.
Ripening Process - Sage cheese can be ripened in an ordinary celar or cool room where the temperature does not go above 60°F. It should be held until ie developed the pronounced flavor that is characteristic of the cheese.
